Neil Gaiman has revealed that a film adaptation of his book American Gods is in the works.

The novel, first published in 2001, takes place in a world in which gods and mythological creatures exist.

In a recent interview, Gaiman exclusively revealed to DS that a director "who has many, many Oscars" is already on board the project.

"I'm going to be having a meeting in LA with the people that the film rights have been sold to," he confirmed. "I'm going to be... talking to them, find out where they're going and if there's any way that I can help."

He also described the unnamed director attached to the film as "a genius".

"He fell in love with this [novel] about six or seven years ago and has not given up," explained the writer.

I know that Guillermo del Toro is a big fan of Neil Gaiman's -- he had Gaiman re-write sections of Hellboy 2 for him -- but I am pretty sure he has not been nominated for a ton of Oscars. Also Guillermo del Toro announcing your project as his next is a statistically proven method of making sure it never gets made. So it's probably not him (although that would be awesome).

This is my favorite work of fiction in the last decade or so. I always had dreams of getting into filmmaking. While they were always just dreams, this was the film that "put me on the map" in those dreams. Can't wait to see how this develops.

Some of their choices for Shadow: Josh Holloway? Depp? John Cusak? GTFO!!!!

Read the novel again and get a fucking clue. Shadow is not white. Maybe half white, at the most. At two different parts of the novel, he's asked if he's part black (by the prison guard) and part Native American (by Sam).

That's why I think The Rock or Vin Diesel would be the two best choices.

Gaiman said he based Wednesday off actor Rip Torn (who I think is a bit too old now). I think Bridges would be great.

I've had the audiobook via Audible since '05. I got about 1/4 through it and then something pulled me away from it (can't remember what).Every time I'd consider getting back into it I'd convince myself not to. Maybe this news will be the catalyst I've been in need of.

Achievement Unlocked: TOTAL DOMINATION (Win a Werewolf Game without losing a single player on your team)

Brian Cox would be a pretty awesome Wednesday. Agree about Dwayne Johnson for Shadow too. However I didn't connect with the book in the way a lot of people did - not sure why but just didn't grab me in the way I thought it would.

Elitism is positing that your taste is equivalent to quality, you hate "Hamlet" does it make it "bad"? If you think so, you're one elite motherfucker.

EXCLUSIVE: As HBO prepares to unveil its epic-sized series adaptation of George RR Martin's Game of Thrones this Sunday, the payweb has begun talks to acquire the Neil Gaiman novel American Gods to be developed into another fantasy series. The project was brought to HBO by Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, and it was brought to them by Robert Richardson. The plan is for Richardson and Gaiman to write the pilot together.

Hey, it's one that I've wanted to check out for a while. Maybe I'll be the catalyst for it finally being adapted. I believe there was talk of it as an HBO series as well, a few years back. I remember Idris E. being talked about . . .

Hey, it's one that I've wanted to check out for a while. Maybe I'll be the catalyst for it finally being adapted. I believe there was talk of it as an HBO series as well, a few years back. I remember Idris E. being talked about . . .

Karen Chu wrote:SINGAPORE – Tom Hanks’ Playtone Productions is set to produce a six-season, open-ended series, American Gods, for HBO, based on Neil Gaiman’s award-winning novel, while the company’s next project, Major Matt Mason, is in talks with Robert Zemeckis to direct in 3D, Playtone partner Gary Goetzman told The Hollywood Reporter.

The series-in-development, revolving around the question “are you a god if no one believes in you?” is executive produced by Goetzman and Hanks, with Bob Richardson, and Gaiman on board as executive producer and writer.

Each of the six seasons will be of 10-12, hour-long episodes with a budget of around $35-40 million per season, targeted to debut on the cable powerhouse in 2013 at the earliest.

Rich in religious folklore that spanned millennia and featuring deities from Greek and Nordic mythology, and even the Judeo-Christian monotheistic God making an appearance, in the contemporary U.S., American Gods will be effects-heavy to do justice to the awe-inspiring power of the divine beings. “There are some crazy things in there. We’ll probably be doing more effects in there than it’s been done on a television series,” said Goetzman.

But materializing much sooner than the deities on earth series will be Playtone’s next Hanks-starring project, the toy-to-screen Major Matt Mason, in 3D.

The producers are in talks with frequent Hanks collaborator in Forrest Gump and The Polar Express, Robert Zemeckis, to direct a screenplay written by Hanks and Graham Yost for Universal.

The live-action family film about space adventure, with a tentative budget of over $100 million, is based on a Mattel action figure. It would be the second 3D production for Playtone, which produced with Imax in 2005 the documentary Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D, co-written, co-produced and narrated by Hanks.

After the gods and the space adventurer comes the idiot. Besides American Gods, Playtone is also developing American Idiot, a screen version of the Broadway musical adapted from Green Day’s eponymous concept album, for 2013 premiere.

Director Michael Mayer of the stage version will direct the movie, while Billie Joe Armstrong will reprise his Broadway role as St. Jimmy in the movie version. The adaptation is Playtone’s second musical after the blockbuster hit, Mamma Mia!, which grossed over $600 million worldwide.

“Mamma Mia! proved that if the musical is right, obviously it can go into the stratosphere, as far as box office gross. We’re always looking for musicals,” said Goetzman, whose company also owns the films rights of Spring Awakening, which the partners are planning to produce in an independent way.

“If we can do that, it’d be a genre that’s as respected as any produced by the studios. Maybe there will be three musicals a year, maybe five. I think that’s important otherwise we’d just have this tentpole mentality where if it’s not based on a comic book or cost $200 million, you're stacked in like pillars. We need all these genres to be respected and we need the studios not to be afraid of them,” he said.

“Studios are afraid of adult movies for a couple of years now, but I felt at the end of last year with The King’s Speech and so many films that did well, they might wake up the studios up with the fact that the adult drama can still be a viable picture to make. You can’t just cut down the film business to horror films, tentpole action, and really stupid comedies. You’ve got to do other stuff. As we know, the film business is always in a state of flux anyway, so it’s in their best interest to understand that whatever you think that’s the greatest kind of movie to make, it will change,” adds Goetzman.

Goetzman and Hanks are in Singapore for the closing night premiere of Larry Crowne at ScreenSingapore.

The comedy, which Hanks wrote, directed and starred in with his Charlie Wilson’s War co-star Julia Roberts, is the first feature film Hanks directed since 1996’s That Thing You Do! The film is scheduled for release on July 1, which serves as counter-programming to the superhero blockbuster summer season from Independence Day weekend.

“I really feel like more people are going to the movies that don’t necessarily want to see a superhero picture, and this gives them a great alternative to go to see two big movies star in a fun romantic comedy, rooted in real issues but still entertaining,’ said Goetzman.

The issues are indeed real and they certainly seem bleak – Hanks’ store staff character goes to college after he was made redundant; Roberts’ character, who became Hanks’ teacher in college, resorted to drinking, having to face crowds of ignorant and apathetic students – a premise that might seem too close to home in recession bound America.

“It’s a line that Tom had to ride in writing it that it was a subject that is in America and in many parts of the world right now, but the best way to tell a story sometimes is with humor. There’s so much humor and hope in it, and good feelings about it, he accomplished that in that it’s a story that’s rooted in reality, but still a very fun movie. Sometimes we just have to say, ‘hey, you know what? You’re gonna work it out. It’s not going to go away tomorrow, but stay out there, and be hopeful, buy a scooter!”

I thought American Gods would make a good stand alone film. Six seasons seems like a lot of self-fellatio to me. Perhaps they'll take a lot of side tracks and devote entire episodes to individual gods. I don't know if I like it getting too far from Shadow and Wednesday, though.

Well that explains how they can fill 6 seasons. I was going to ask Gaiman fans if they could take anything from Anansi Boys, which, obviously, I haven't read. I've only read American Gods. So far . . .